Air-brake system



Dec. 1929. w. H. SAUVAGE 1,733,395

' AIR BRAKE SYSTEM Filed Feb. 24, 1928 A TTORNE Y Patented Dec. 3, 1929 ATENT E WILLIAM H. SA'UVAGE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE AESIGNMEN'LDS, TU

BUYAL BAILWAY IMPROVEMENTS CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK,

RATION OF DELAWARE N. Y., A COR-PO- ain-nn-ann SYSTEM Application filed February 24,1225. Serial No. 25mm.

'- proximately seven or eight inches, depending largely upon the movement of the car and its loading, but inasmuch as very few brakes are in properly regulated condition, in fact statistics show that only about ten per cent are correctly regulated after the cars have been in active use for a few hours, the piston has an irregular travel. If abnormal ly long a reduced braking action results, or if abnormally short, such piston travel is very undesirable because of high brake cylinder pressure equalization resulting in stuck brakes, flat and cracked wheels, break-intwos, etc. Yet, a short piston travel with these objections eliminated and proper equalization would be highly desirable, inasmuch a quicker and more efficient braking action is obtainable, the brakes throughout the entire train will operate at a much more uniform rate, and brake shoe clearance would be correspondingly reduced thereby lessening the possibility of over-heated Wheels, broken brake shoes and brake beams, and consequentderailment, etc.

it is accordingly one of the objects of the present invention to provide an air brake system which will permit a relatively short nor ial piston travel with proper brake shoe clearance and without shocks to the wheels or brake shoes, brake beams or any other parts of the rigging. Therefore in the specifica tion and claims the term short piston travel. is to be interpreted as being approximately one-half present standard piston travel or about three and a half or four inches.

A further object is to provide such a mechanism whereby the piston travel is reduced approximately half, thus prolonging the life and wear of piston packing rings and other moving parts.

A further object is to provide such a system adapted to reduce or minimize all shocks to the train and equalize the time element in applying and in releasing the brakes throughout the train.

A further object is to provide an attachment for standard equipment now in use for accomplishing the above objects at a minimum of expense and without material substitution, alteration or expense or additions to such equipment.

A further object is to provide a mechanism of the above general character which will permit of a greatly reduced brake shoe clearance, thus preventing the insertion of new shoes only by necessitating the full release of the brake rigging and its subsequent regulat-ion, as for example, by means of the manually actuated regulators shown in my Patent, No. 1,612,781, dated December 28, 1926, or any desired automatic regulator could be used if desired.

Other objects will be in part obvious from the annexed drawings and in part hereinafter indicated in connection therewith by the following analysis of the invention.

This invention accordingly consists in th features of construction, combination of parts and in the unique relation of the members and in the relative proportioning and disposition thereof, all as more completely outlined herein.

To enable others skilled in the art to fully comprehend the underlying features thereof that they may embody the same by the numerous modifications in, structure and relation contemplated by this invention, drawings depicting a preferred form of the invention have been annexed as part of this disclosure, and in such drawings, like char acters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout all of the view, of which- Fig. 1 shows semi-diagrannnatically and partially in section a plan view of such parts of the brake rigging in applied position as is considered necessary to fully understand the same;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a modified arrangement; and

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of one type of regulator.

' position.

In these drawings, the numeral indicates an air brake cylinder of standard construction provided with a piston 11 and preferably a two-part telescoping piston rod 12 and 13. An internal spring 14 is adapted to restore the piston 11 to its normal release The push rod 13 is connected at 15 with one end of a live cylinder lever 16, the opposite end of which lever is pivotally connected to apullrod 17 leadingto one of the truck-brake riggings and its regulator if desired. Atthe opposite end of the cylinder, there is provided a floating or dead lever 18 connected with the live-lever by a tie rod 20, whereby motion is transmitted from the cylinderto'cause a swinging action of the dead lever about its adjustable support 2l,.thereby toactuate a pull rod 22 connected with the opposite truck brake rigging and regulator. All this construction is now of standard well known typepandf urther description is con sidered unnecessary.

The. cylinderlevers 16 and 18 are supported by. means of. brackets 23, 24 and 25 as and for the purpose setforth in my above mentioned 1 patent, the primary object of this construction being to.determine the normal angularitv of the cylinder levers 16 and 18 when in their positions of full release and to prevent the regulating actuating "movement on one truck being transmitted to the truck brake rigging attheopposite endof-the car.

The air brakepiston' is actuated when the pressure in the train pipe indicated at 26 is reduced. 'This'variation in pressure aliects a triple valve indicated at 27 allowing the expansion of ,air from reservoir 28 thru connect-ing pipe 30tothe cylinder 10. The connecting pipe, however, is provided with an expanslon'reservoir3l and an lntervening restricted port opening 32 which performs two bra e se rfunctions, that is, when in restrictedpositi on, it of courseeliminates the shock in the cylinder, and fu rt her the expansion of air from the cylinder into the expansion chamber permits a more gradual equalization of pressure after the main rush of air from the reservoir 28 to the cylinder, thus avoiding all shock and 'break-in-twos in a car of trains so equipped, and also prevents wheels locking due to the high cylinder pressure obtained without expansion chamber 31.

' Asabove explained, foundation brake gear when properly regulated, eitherautomatically or nanually, should have approximately a brake ,shqe clearance of one-fourth to threeeig hths ofan inch, but by reason of the leverage and intervening parts, this necessitates anor'm'al proportional piston travel of only approximately four inches, assuming there being no other change made in the foundation As this short piston travel is undesirable in present day equipment for reasonsabove set fo ih the'equalizing or expansion reservoir obviates these difliculties, for with a ten pound reduction in the train pipe and seventy pound auxiliary reservoir pressure, the same effective pressure may be obtained on the piston on a four inch travel by using the expansion reservoir 31 as would other wise occur in a normal seven or eight inch piston t avel with standard equipment, and the time element required to develop and release this pressure will be approximately the same. Without some provision for the power brake mechanism which will permit a by-passing of a portion of the air from the auxiliary reservoir, excessive cylinder pressure would be developed with short piston travel and resulting in the serious objections noted above. While the consumption of air is the same in both situations, the short piston travel eliminates the shocks throughout the cars and trains, reduces the chances of broken brake shoes and beams, materially saves the w air and tear upon the cars, and avoids skidding of the wheels.

The present construction is particularly advantageous and beneficial where emergency actions take place, and the major portion of the shock to the foundation brake gear and the car due to such emergency action is entirely eliminated. The high peak lJl'fil-IG cylinder pressure will. be obtained in en'leigcnuy with an almost immediate drop to normal pressure to the expansion reservoir by reason of the restricted opening 32, which gradually reduces the cylinder pressure after the lilst high emergency rush of air down to its normal safe braking application pressure.

In order that proper and predetermined brake shoe clearance may be had at all times, there is provided any desirec form 01? regulatmoans either on each truck or such as indicated at 33, -for the floating point of support or" the dead lever 18. it is preferred, however, to use a regulator of that neral type illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. which will be either or both automatic or manual in its operation. This regulator comrises the main body casing 33 supported from any relatively fixed part of the car. such as a transverse beam or draft sill in 3i 5:. 1, or the rear of the air brake cylinder in Fi 's. 2 and 3. This may be secured in any desired manner as by means of bolts 34.

The lever 18 is mounted in a longitiulinul slot 35 in a ratcnet bar 36 which is normally held against movement in one direction as by means of spring actuated pawl 37. At the end of this bar is mounted a cylnidcr 38 havproximatel four or five inches from the cylinder head. The purpose of this construc tion should be apparent, but it may be briefly stated that whenever excess travel of the piston 11 occurs, that is, over this predetermined normal short travel of four inches, this port at is uncovered thereby allowing air to tlow into the cylinder 38 and force out the piston O, together with the pawl 12 so that it clicks over one tooth oi? the ratchet; 3b.

ll hen the bra-hes released, and the piston grasgin the handle 16 may move the pin 21 along the slot 35, which is progmrtional to normal brake shoe clearance, and it any excess movement exists in the bralte rigging, then the rod 36 is carried further towards the left one or more notches past the manually releasable pawls 37 and 42, thereby permanently to take up and hold any excess piston travel movement. The lever 18 will be restored to normal position under the action of gravity upon the remaining parts oi? the brake rigging and drop back the distance of the lost motion slot 35.

In both forms, there is proterably provided a cut-out cock at? whereby the auxiliary expansion reservoir 31 may be disconnected from the brake rigging when desired. Likewise, it may be desirable to attach a chain 48 to the live lever 16 to permit the actuation of the bi by hand power in any desired manner.

It is believed to be unnecessary to go into a statement of operation of the present device other than to note that on application of the air brakes by reduction in the train line pressure, the air from the auxiliary r servoir 28 passes thru the pipe 30 to the air brake cylinder 10 to force out the piston 11 and apply the brakes. A portion of this air, however, is by-passed in the present case to the expansion reservoir during or after the first rush of air to the cylinder by reason of the restricted opening 32. The cylinder piston moves only approximately four inches, or half of its usual distance. By reason ot the reduced brake shoe clearance, this move ment brings the brake shoes instantly into engagement with the peripheries of the wheels without shock or damage to either shoes or wheels,'and the action takes place uniformly and simultaneously on all of the cars of the train so equipped. The excess air pressure expands in the reservoir 31 thereby eliminating excessive braking power and the usual resulting slid fiat wheels.

l/Vhile the advantages of short piston travel may have heretofore been appreciated, z well as the advantages of using an auxiliary expansion reservoir under dillorent car loadings, no case is known where these features have been successfully combined in a reliable, eliicient, practical and foolproof mechanism. For instance, it it were attempted to regulate piston travel manually, and such regulation is included, very shortly there will develop a condition of long piston travel due to the fact that the brake shoes have been worn down, whereupon the inspector is very likely to remove the worn out shoes and jam in new brake shoes without first restoring the entire brake rigging to full release po. fen. Such tendencies are common among railway employees, and 01 course such action immediately results in abnormally short piston travel with the usual disastrous consequences. By using an automatic regulator, however, the human factor is eliminated, and the picton is automatically maintained at four inch travel with. quarter inch brake shoe clearance, thereby making the replacement of worn hralre shoes impossible without the full release of the brake regulator mechanism.

In 2, there is illustrated a further advantage of the present arrangement, namely, the positioning of the connected pivot points of the tie rod 20 in the middle of the lovers 16 and 18 instead of the two to one ratio shown in Fig. 1. In other words, the parts A and B are equal to the parts C and D respectively. By such construction, the leverages using the fundamentals of the present power system and employing the same volume of air and the same pressure as now used, develops a hundred per cent increase in power. The same volume of air is used whether the car is light or loaded, and the time element in applying the brakes and releasing the same synchronizes with the present conditions of brake operation both in time and air consump tion throughout the train.

It will be noted from the above that the present mechanism involves very little in addition to the present standard railway equipment as shown in my Patent, No. 1,612,781, and such equipment may be modified a minimum of expense thereby to obtain among others all of the objects and advantages herein set forth.

Without further analysis the tore oing will so fully reveal the gist of this. invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and therefore such adaptations should and are intend- 'edvto becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims: 7

,1, In an air brake system, in combination, an air brake cylinder and reservoir, an auxiliary expansion reservoir into which a p0rtionoi the air is by-passed on application of the brakes, whereby piston travel may be reduced approximately one-half without loss of effectiveness.

2. In an air brake system, in combination,

an air brake cylinder having a piston for acnormal braking pressure within the cylinder for short piston travel, said cylinder having a port in one sideat the end of this normal short piston travel to permit an escape of air whenever the piston exceeds normal short piston travel.

I. In an air brake system, in combination, an air bra e cylinder, a piston therein connected with the brake rigging for normal short piston travel, an air reservoir, means for diverting a portion of the air from said reservoir to the cylinder on application of the brakes, means for diverting a portion of the air from the cylinder when excess travel of the piston occurs, and means-actuated by the air diverted from said cylinder for restoring the brake rigging to properly regulated condition in which brake shoe clearance is proportional to normal short piston travel.

' 5. In an air brake system, in combination, an air brake cylinder, a piston therein adapted normally to have short piston travel for applying the brakes, means for maintaining the brake shoes at a clearancedistance proportional to. this normal short piston travel, and means for preventing excessive pressure in the cylinder short piston travel.

6. In an air brake system, in combination, an air brake cylinder, a pistontherein regulated normally to have short piston travel for applying the brakes, and an auxiliary expansion reservoir into which a portion of the air for applying the brakes is diverted,

thereby to preventex essive brake pressure in the cylinder for travel.

7 In an air brake system, 1n combination,

such normal short piston an air brake cylinder, a piston therein regulated normally to have short piston travel for applying the brakes, and an auxiliary expanreservoir being restricted whereby equalization and pressure gradually takes place after braking application.

8. In an air brake system, in combination, an air brake cylinder, brake rigging mclud ing live and dead levers connected with each other and said cylinder, one o1 said levers having an adjustable point or support adapted to be moved on excess piston travel, said piston travel, however, being approximately half present standard piston travel, and means for div rting a part of the standard air pressure from said cylinder on application of the brakes, thereby to prevent abnormal pressure within the air brake cylinder in mess of the pressure contained in the cylinders of any other car.

9. In an air brake system, in combination, an air brake cylinder, a piston therein having normal short piston travel, live and dead levers connected with said piston, one of said levers having a variable point of support, and means whereby said point of support may be shifted manually or automatically, thereby to position the brake shoes at proper predetermined clearance proportional to normal short piston travel, and means for controlling the pressure in said cylinder for such short piston travel.

10. In an air brake system, in combination, an air brake cylinder, a piston therein having normal short piston travel, live and dead levers connected with said piston, one oi said levers having a variable point of support, and an expansion reservoir adjacent the cylinder whereby a portion of the air used in applying the brakes is diverted from said cylinder to prevent excessive pressure in said cylinder by reason of its short piston travel.

11. In an air brake system, in combination, an air brake cylinder having a piston adapted to have normal short piston travel, live and. dead levers at opposite ends of said cylinders and connected with each other at their central parts, one of said levers having a shiftable point of support, and an expansion reservoir adjacent the cylinder whereby a portion of the air to be used in applying the brakes is diverted from said cylinder to prevent excessive pressure in said cylinder by reason of its short piston travel.

12. In an air brake system, in combination, an air brake cylinder, a piston regulated normally to have short piston travel for applying the brakes, an auxiliary expansion rcservoir into which a portion of the air for applying the brakes is diverted whereby to obtain normal air pressure within the cylinder for short piston travel, and means for cutting in and out the auxiliary expansion reservoir as and when desired.

13. In an air brake system, in combination, an air brake cylinder, a piston therein regulated normally to have short piston travel for applying the brakes, an auxiliary ex pansion reservoir into which a portion of the air for applying the brakes is diverted thereby to prevent excessive brake pressure in the cylinder for such normal short piston travel, and means for cutting in and out said auxiliary expansion reservoir as and when desired thereby to increase or decrease the brake power depending upon the condition of load of the car.

14. In an air brake system, in combination, an air brake cylinder, a piston therein regulated normally to have short piston travel for applying the brakes, an auxiliary expansion reservoir into which a portion of the air for applying the brakes is diverted thereby to prevent excessive brake pressure in the cylinder for such normal short piston travel, means for cutting in and out said auxiliary expansion reservoir as and when desired thereby to increase or decrease the brake power depending upon the condition of the load of the car, and means whereby a further portion of the air after applying the brakes may be diverted when excess piston travel occurs.

Signed at New York, New York, this 28th day of December, 1927.

WILLIAM H. SAUV'AGE. 

